(ATLANTA – On Thursday, August 7, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will present the Region 4 “Excellence in Site Reuse” award to Forsite Development, Inc. for redeveloping the Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. Superfund site in Charlotte, North Carolina, into ReVenture Park, the region’s first eco-industrial energy park. The award ceremony will take place during the Grand Unveiling of ReVenture Park at 11:00 a.m. EDT. ReVenture Park is located at 11701 Mount Holly Road.EPA Region 4 created the “Excellence in Site Reuse” award to recognize those who have made outstanding efforts to reuse a Superfund site through cooperative efforts with EPA. Selected recipients have gone above and beyond to ensure sites are reused in a manner compatible with site remedies and that makes sites’ beneficial use possible for many years to come. Forsite Development, Inc. is being recognized for its commitment to safely and sustainably reuse a property along the Catawba River that was formerly contaminated by years of industrial operations.

Forsite Development, Inc. worked with EPA, the state, site stakeholders and local partners to support the return of the 667-acre Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. Superfund site to productive use as an eco-industrial energy park. ReVenture Park reuses the site’s extensive existing infrastructure – rail and interstate access, a wastewater treatment facility, 300,000 square feet of existing industrial space, utility substations and transmission lines, and a 360-million gallon containment pond – to create a platform for large-scale renewable energy and alternative fuel projects. Additionally, site projects such as a large conservation easement, wildlife habitat projects, stream restoration, and a trail system connecting the regional Carolina Thread Trail across the site to the nearby U.S. National Whitewater Center enhance the site’s natural resources.

By reclaiming, restoring and reinventing this industrial area, ReVenture Park serves as a national model for innovative redevelopment and is one of the leading renewable energy projects on a Superfund site in the United States. The project illustrates how the reuse of Superfund sites can protect human health, advance environmental protection and provide valuable community assets.